Civil War Goals, Strategies, People, and Events

Northern Goals, Strategies, and Advantages Lincoln: save the Union; later--abolish slavery Anaconda Plan: 1) blockade southern coast--prevent trade; 2) take control of Mississippi River--cut the South in half; 3) capture Richmond, Virginia (South’s capital); 4) invade the South--force them to surrender advantages: population; banks; factories; railroad lines; U.S. government leadership; navy

Southern Goals, Strategies, and Advantages Jefferson Davis: president of the Confederacy goals: continue fighting until the North gave up; get foreign recognition and support (because of cotton); capture Washington, D.C. advantages: knew the land; defended their homes; preserve their way of life; military leadership; desire for independence; soldiers had experience

Important eastern battles and people Southern generals: Robert E. Lee; Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson; James Longstreet Northern generals: George McClellan; Joseph Hooker; good organizers--but poor leaders in battle 1861-63: 1st and 2nd Bull Run; Fredericksburg; and Chancellorsville; southern victories 1862-63: Antietam and Gettysburg: south invades the North at Maryland and Pennsylvania; northern victories and turning points of the war; Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address issued

Important western battles and people Ulysses S. Grant: northern general; lead many victories Ft. Donelson and Vicksburg: North defeats the South; takes control of Mississippi River Shiloh: deadliest battle; mostly a stalemate (like many battles)

1864-65 Battles in the East Grant: transferred east to fight Lee’s army William T. Sherman: lead a “march to the sea” through Georgia and the Carolinas; destroyed railroads and property--burned Atlanta Battles of the Wilderness in Virginia; Grant kept up the attack--despite losing many soldiers; South also lost a lot of men--that they could not replace Petersburg and Richmond: North created a siege of them; they eventually surrender Appomattox Courthouse: Lee surrenders to Grant in April, 1865; the Civil War ends

Why the North won the war North had many material advantages--esp. population; 10% of its soldiers (180,000) were African American women: ran the home front while men fought; many served as nurses, spies, and some as soldiers (in secret) Clara Barton: “angel of the battlefield”--founded American Red Cross

Why the South lost the war paying for the war: sold bonds and printed paper money; inflation: a big problem for the South (money worth less) the South never received foreign recognition due to slavery; had many shortages of goods U.S. government was stronger than the southern government; Lincoln took away the right to protest the war